1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for catching items susceptible to falling behind furniture, appliances, fixtures or equipment, or into any other crevice which would cause the item to become lost or irretrievable. More specifically, the present invention is concerned with a device for catching valuables such as jewelry, makeup, currency, papers, office supplies or other items which are left on top of furniture and which, without such invention, may otherwise fall behind the furniture where it would be difficult or impossible to retrieve.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
In a bedroom or other room in the home, where there are large pieces of furniture in use, items are often stored or temporarily placed on the top of the surfaces of the furniture. This furniture never fits completely or tightly against the wall or against other furniture next to which it is placed. This allows a gap or crevice through which the items on top of the furniture may fall. The clearance width may be relatively small, but even so, it becomes a natural trap for misplaced items, which may include valuables such as jewelry, makeup, currency, papers, office supplies or other items which are left on top of furniture even garbage which may be placed on the top surface. Such things migrate into the confined space beneath and behind the furniture, where retrieval can be difficult or impossible for extended periods of time. The area behind the furniture is usually difficult to access.
A vacuum cleaner with a nozzle attachment may be able to reach into a limited part of some (but not all) of these spaces, and may afford a limited means heretofore available for retrieval of some lost items from behind the furniture. However, a vacuum cleaner cannot reach behind or under many types of furniture. In addition, a vacuum cleaner cannot pick up.
Ultimately, in order to recover most fallen valuable items without damage, the furniture must, in most cases, be displaced particularly for furniture under which vacuum attachments cannot reach, or for valuable items which are not desired to be sucked into a vacuum cleaner. This is time-consuming and requires physical strength. Displacement of the furniture can even cause injury to the owner or even damage to the floor on which it is slid or the wall against which it rests.
Only one patent in the prior art addresses the prevention of the loss of valuable items behind another object. St-Pierre (U.S. Pat. No. 5,518,309) discloses a metal mesh basket as the catching device. The metal mesh basket is designed to fit between a washer or dryer and the wall behind either machine. It is required to be attached by screws or other fastening devises directly to the washer or dryer. This requires drilling holes or otherwise permanently altering the washer or dryer. This is not advantageous, useful or practical for furniture which may be expensive and which its owner is thus hesitant to alter.
The prior art discloses items of different cross-sectional configurations, positioning mechanisms and securing means then is required by the present invention. Each of these devices use some form of attachment means or toothed edges to secure the device in its location for use. These features are not required by the present invention.
The unique characteristics and operative features of the device of the present invention are, therefore, unrepresented within the prior art. The prior art is outdated in general and unresponsive with respect to any ability to address the concerns of the present invention. The prior art is unable to achieve the results of the present invention without damage to the furniture due to the required attachment means. The device of the present invention is designed to address such concerns in a unique and efficient manner, using techniques and principles not currently shown or disclosed in the prior art.